GM India Sales Down 20 Percent In February 2013

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General Motors India sold 7,106 vehicles in February 2013, representing a decline of 1,795 units or 20 percent compared to February 2012. While sales volumes of the recently-launched Chevy Sail, which replaced the aging (Daewoo-designed) Aveo in the India-market Chevrolet lineup, were “as expected” according to GM, sales performance of other models was not up to snuff.

In addition, it appears that taxes have increased for certain vehicles (such as SUVs), putting a damper on sales of the Chevrolet Captiva and Tavera. And we can’t imagine that the prevailing economic uncertainty in India is having a good impact on car sales, either.

“Although we have generated the volumes for Chevrolet Sails as expected, the overall numbers inclusive of other models were not on the expected lines as the market continues to remain subdued”, said Vice President of GM India Paramu Balendran. “Now with excise duty also going up for certain categories of vehicles, the market is not expected to improve in the coming months also as the macro economic uncertainties still continue. The hike in excise duty for SUVs which is impacting other models as well has further dampened the growth prospects.”

The GM Authority Take

With sales volume so low, we have to wonder if there’s a profit to be made in India whatsoever… but hey, at least there’s the WulingChevrolet Enjoy to save the day!

Dave — the GM Authority take wasn’t to suggest that GM in some way discontinue its efforts in a market of potential future growth. I think the question we should really be asking is whether the 1 billion people want a car… or if they will be able to afford one (en masse). Because even the most successful players in the country only sell 3x-5x what Chevy sells while offering vehicles at significantly lower prices.